Sun-drying means for vegetable material



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Application filed September it 19%. Serial lto, i

account a very important of the costs or manufacture, aside from theimpo sibility of the perfectly satisfactory execution this operation.portant objects of my invention to provide sun drying and curing meansof easy and convenient manipulation and construction which makes itpossible to utilize the sun rays in the most perfect and intensified man65 V ner, so as to produce the desiccation, curing or evaporlzing of thefruit or the like in a very short period of time.

In the practice of my invention, and in lt is one of the imsofacilitating the desiccating process by a judicious application ofairing, and thereby to essentially improve the condition and keepingqualities of the products obtained, and to generally improve andfacilitate the drying operation.

In the process of sun drying or sun curing as previously conducted thematerialto be operated upon, thus for example copra, cocoa, cofiee,castor plant (Ricinus), fruit, tobacco and the like was exposed upontrays view of the objects hereinbefore specified I 7 may proceed bysuperimposing a plurality of drylng frames or trays, and combining themwith a roofing of sheet metal into a closed unit or metal casing whichis exposed to the irradiation of the sun. By means of 7 the rapid andstrong heating of the metal surfaces which are rapidly and thoroughlyheated by the sun rays the desiccating action is greatly increased,Then, the materialto be treated is at all times perfectly protected tillor supports of wire netting or upon wooden supports or trays which forthe curing and drying operation were generally placed upon the groundside by side of each other, or in the case of wooden supports withroofing, the trays were arranged to be moved to the outside by means ofguide rails or the like. The drying or curing period usually variedbetween from t to 7 days but the quality of the product obtained was notalways unob-jectionable, and there was the serious drawback that uponthe occurrence of rainy weather all the trays had to be suddenly removedto a place of safety, while with the recurrence of sunshine they had tobe brought back into the open air. Aside from the serious inconveniencethat this pro cedure called for a great amount of help it is very oftenimpossible to protect all trays in proper time. if, however the goods'tobe desiccated or cured, have become wetted only once by the rain, thequality of the product is very considerably impaired This is trueparticularly for the drying of copra and of other vegetable products,and it is one of the chief objects ofniy invention to overcome thediliiculties referred to. In tropical climates the rain as a rule setsin very suddenly and lasts but a few minutes, and in view thereof the.labor required for the removal to safety and for the Ire-exposure of thematerial has to be taken into from rain and inclement weather the entirework of removal to safety is dispensed with and any risk of impairin thequality of the goods is efi'ectually avoi ed.

There is no need of heating passages in 55 the drying means inaccordance with my invention, merely vent holes or airing aperturesbeing required, which constitutes a very important difl erence even inthe structure and external shape of the new drying no means asdistinguished from artificially heated drying kilns. The entire dryingde vice according to this invention is made up of any desired largenumber of metal frames or trays which are placed on top of each otherand of a covering hood or roofing with a discharge passage also made ofmetal, so that the sun rays will always be made to act upon metalsurfaces, mostly sheet iron,

and their heat is completely absorbed therewill by, By this-means atemperature is pro duced in the interior of the unit which, as shown byexperiments is considerably above the outside temperature. lln order tostill further enhance this action the outer sur- 1% faces may be darlrcolored by a suitable paint or pigment, by black or brown tints or thelike. The time required for the fin ishing drying is therebyconsiderably shortened, and there is the additional advantage ascompared with the drying by sun rays in the open that th drying goodsare always protected from rain, and there is no further necessity toremove themto a sheltered place upon any occurring rain by t1me consummglabor as in the previous drying and sun cur ing methods. The dimensionsof the drying device may be made correspond to the requirements in avery simple manner by a suitable selection of the superlmposed frames ortrays.

The invention is more fully illustrated upon the accom anyin drawingshowing by way of examp e one orm of embodnnent of the principles of myinvention in Figure 1 in a side elevation of the entire unit of dryingmeans, Figure 2 showing the roof diagrammatically transversely cut;Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sheet metal frame; Figure 4 is aside view and Figure 5 is a representation of a corner connection of theframe referred to.

The box sha ed metal frames a are provided at their si es with aplurality of apertures having turned out rims b which, for the urpose ofstifi'ening are preferably outwar ly conically shaped. At all corners ofthe frame a wooden block 0 of substantially triangular shape is suitablyfitted on the top of which there is a substantially semi-circular studor projection d, while at its bottom side there is. a correspondingsocket 6. At the interior side wall of the corner blocks 0 there is anangle iron which is riveted at its two ends to the wa of the frame, andserves as a support for the trays or beds of the material to be dried.The metal frames a, after having been charged with the material aresuperimposed vertically in such a manner that each of the studs d ismade to engage with a socket e at any one of the corners of the frame.

The superimposed frames constitute the heating body proper. The framesmay be of quadrangular, rectangular or any desired round configuration,and may be manufactured of any suitable metal. The roofin 'or hood 9serves both for the heating an for the protection from rain. The passage71. provides for the escape of the air saturated with moisture by thedrying operation. The warm fresh air is free to -flow through theapertures b in the frame both verticall upwards as well as horizontallythroug the drying beds which are likewise provided with holes. The airand the water vapor are discharged or drawn off at the top through thepassage 72.. The outwardly projecti 'rims b are preferably so shapedthat only t e upper portion is punched out and turned outwards. Amongother points of superiorit the novel drying means described present t efollowing advantages as compared with other sun drying and curingdevices: 1, considerable acceleration of the drying process; 2, highestdegree of protection from rain and inclement weather; 3, most simplifiedoperation and uniform drying; 4, easy mounting and adaptability and butlittle space required; 5, superior quality of the dried product; 6, lowpurchase price; 7, reduction of the variations of temperature.

The invention has been shown and described herein only in its broadaspects, and it is obvious that variations'and modifications may occurto better adapt the invention to varying conditions of its application,and without deviating from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. The process of sun-dr ing and curing vegetable material andthe ike, which process consists in keeping and shieldin said material byheat conveying means, a apted for the absorption of the calorificportion of the sun rays, and causing outside air to pass through thematerial laterally and upwardly during the treatment, and in separatesuperimposed streams- 2. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising asubstantially close metal casing, superimposed layers of goods in saidcasing, and lateral airing and ventilating means in said casing for eachlayer of material.

3. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially closemetal casing adapted for the absorption of sun rays, a substantiallyroof-shaped hood forming the top of said casing, venting means in saidhood, and lateral venting means in the sides of said casing oppositeeach layer of material, and means in said casing, adapted to supportlayers of material under treatment.

4. Sun drying and curing apparatus, comprising a substantially closedmetal casing adapted for the absorption of sun rays, supporting blocksin the corners of said casing, a plurality of supporting frames for thematerial superimposedly arranged within said casing and resting on saidblocks, and engageable holding means in the blocks and in the frames.

5. Sun drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially'closemetal casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality of superimposedreceiving and supporting frames in the casing, venting passages in thecasing and'in the frames, and outwardly projecting nispples around saidpassages.

6. un drying and curing a paratus, comprising a substantially closedmetal casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality of superimposedreceiving and supporting frames of substantially equal size in thecasing, venting passages in the casing and in the frames, and outwardlyconically reduced projecting ni ples around said passages.

2. Sun dr ing and curing apparatus, comprising a substantiall closedexteriorly dull black casing, adapted for insolation, a plurality ofsuperimposed receiving and sup- .porting frames within the casing,lateral venting means in the casing and in the meat in the casing,venting passages for the frames, and means to hold said frames in casingand the frames, the upper half secposition within the casing. tions ofsaid passages being unched out, In

8. Sun drying and curing a paratus,comand snbstantially roof-shapeoutwardly I prising a substantiallyclose metal casing projecting rims onsaid punched out poradapted for insolation, a plurality of suptlons.porting frames for the material under treat v BRUNO MIULLER.

